The Fifth Marauder & The House of Black

Summary: The Murder Tree has taken the life of someone Amber holds dear. Now, she must deal with the fallout and question her own responsibility. A nasty new professor will drive the Marauders to give payback.

Prologue

The graveyard stood silent in the night. Fog
lifted from the damp grass, ghostly, wet and white, clinging to the headstones
and muffling the sound of footsteps approaching. Several tall figures dressed
in black swept silently over the yard of the dead, their faces shrouded by
ghastly white masks. They were like hornets drawn back into the hive, each one
honed in on their master.

A huge
mansion stood alone on the crest of a hill, overlooking over a distant village
that glowed with hundreds of tiny lights like fireflies. The figures filed into
the decrepit house, the tired floorboards creaking with each step. A rat
skittered across the feet of one figure. A flash of green light stopped the rat
from moving ever again. It was kicked aside and hit the baseboards with a dull
thud.

The black
figures entered a spacious dining room. A long, scarred wooden table that
hadn’t been eaten at in decades still held a bowl of plastic decorative fruit,
but it was covered in thick cobwebs and layers of dust. The figures sat down at
the table, each chair filled by a silent body. The head chair was still empty.

Minutes
passed by in total silence. No one cleared their throat or coughed. No one
sneezed, in spite of the heavy, dust-filled air.

“Good
evening, ladies and gentlemen.”

A few of the
figures flinched as a tall, pale man lowered himself into the high-backed,
throne-like chair at the head of the table. A huge brown snake hissed and
curled around his shoulders like a scarf. He stroked her diamond-shaped head,
his fingers cold as the dead that lay outside of the house under the dirt.

“I have to
admit… I am impressed.” The man said in a high voice. “I never expected so many
of you to turn up. I never expected how deep your loyalty would run.”

A few heads
nodded. Their faces were still masked by those white faces.

“It has come
to my attention that the Ministry may be onto us.” The man went on. “A Mr.
Vincent Backe is making quiet the ruckus about me in the Daily Prophet. Lucius,
I believe you, being co workers with this fine, well-educated writer, wouldn’t
mind arranging a little chat with him?”

“No, my
Lord.” One of the closer figures answered. “I will speak with him tomorrow
morning.”
“And you will do well to make sure he doesn’t speak again.” The Dark
Lord insisted. “It is bad enough to have Eugenia Jenkins sniffing around where
her nose doesn’t belong. The last thing we need is to attract attention.”

“I will be
discreet, my Lord.” Lucius promised.

“Very good.”
The Dark Lord commended. He leaned back in his back, his gaze sweeping the
length of the table. “Now, I wonder how evangelical you have all been.
Bellatrix, you and Lestrange have done well in my bid for the aid of the
Giants.”

One of the
figures, the closest to him, shivered in delight. “Anything for you, my Lord.”
She gushed.

summerstone:
Seriously this is one of the best books I've ever read. The plot is intriguing, I love the narrative style. Its very descriptive and unique, with minimal cliches. It makes for a great read and the sequels are amazing. Totally worth reading. ^^ That's me trying to be professional. But in all hones...

John Reed:
Seadrias masterfully captures the impressiveness and complex scope that a science fiction novel should provide while carefully crafting an entire universe that will leave a reader in awe from start to finish. The only flaw I could find is that I wish I could have read more. This book is certainly...

dd1226:
I love reading about other countries and I think this story about Cambodia after Polpot creates awareness of the tragedy that happened there and the actions of the U.N. to hold elections. The heroine of the story is easy to relate to, a modern, middleaged woman looking for an adventure, wanting t...

Deleted User:
This is a very clever story in the style of 19th century (and turn of the century) Gothic writing, very reminiscent of Stevenson's The Body Snatchers or even of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (less so of Frankenstein itself, since the author is more minimalist than Shelley's florid, Romantic rhetoric). ...

Alex Rushmer:
This was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot Malfoy was always one of the characters that I liked a lot, so I like that a lot of this happens between him and Colette. I read the first couple chapters, and I enjoyed your writing style and am excited to see where you take this story. My com...

Felisa Yoder Osburn:
I really enjoyed the story. Civil War stories are some of my favorites and the intertwining of the past with current times was wonderful. I look forward to reading the next stories.

Nymeria:
Really can't get enough of this story. It flows well, it captivates the reader from page 1, and throws you into such a well-written, well conceptualized world that you'll believe it's real. Everything in the book is meshed together really well. From character backgrounds to plot twists, you can t...

Schaelz:
I was intrigued from the second I started reading, and it kept my interest the whole way through. Chelsea has a way with words that will enchant you until the very end. She is very poetic with the way she mixes genres and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The main character is also very relat...

Hudson:
Your story was fantastic Erin! The Rising Sun was one of the first stories I read on Inkitt, and I have to say I don't regret the three to four days I spent pouring through the story.Probably the biggest strength I see in your writing is your characterisation of Eliana, Oriens, and the rest of th...

Alice Liu:
Whoa! I've been wondering how would the Maurauders react to Harry's life and here we go! YOU ARE THE BEST! All the characters are consistent with their personalities shown in the book! I love how you compare Lily with Molly and it's definitely true for her being a mother! I wish Peter comes have ...

ga1984:
I really enjoyed it! Characters were deep and plot was pretty complex. A bit on the violent side but it doesnt detract from the story. Very dark but situations make sense. Ends kinda abruptly and later chapters will need some editing work. I'm assuming there's more in the works?

Usagi Kita:
This story is emotional from beginning to end. You get to watch the characters struggle and grow, maturing in different ways so that they come to be the people they are meant to be. Inea is insanely adorable, and his antics made me laugh more than once, and Kaedon is perfect for him in so many wa...